What are the biggest barriers to wellness young people face? The findings of a new five-city Center for Promise study of young people—by young people—might surprise you. Here’s one Philadelphia youth researcher’s perspective.

Nearly 20 years ago, MENTOR was proud to be a founding partner of the Presidents’ Summit for America’s Future, the gathering that led to the founding of America’s Promise Alliance. That event gave a huge boost to the mentoring movement, resulting in a wave of first-ever local public funding for mentoring and the founding of many of our local affiliates.

Eliminating poverty and raising the high school graduation rate to 90 percent — these two goals are daunting. However, they’re the goals of the GradMinnesota initiative, as well as goals I am committed to working toward over the next seven months.

I am a low-income, first-generation college student. My Vietnamese parents work strenuous hours in factories as assembly workers, rolling paper to adorn the windows of stores and making batteries to power electronics, all to make ends meet for our family.

As a child, I knew certain streets were dangerous, that police could not be trusted, and that stepping on someone’s shoes on the bus could get you killed. Community violence was normal to me, but not to my peers at school.

This story is part of the “90 for All” series, which examines the challenges facing traditionally underserved students, particularly low-income and homeless students, English language learners, students of color and students with disabilities.